"Well then, it's yes."
"I thought as much. You know the business we're running, it seems. Now look here, I've got a proposition to make to you. I'm going to run two more cargoes in the next ten days or so. I'm two men short. I'll ship you two and pay you three times ordinary wages and a bonus for the two trips."
Ben and Dare were both so amazed at this unexpected turn in the situation that they could only stand and stupidly regard their gaoler.
"Well?" demanded Pierre impatiently; "say something, can't you!"
"We hardly knows what to say, cap'n," said Ben, recovering a little from his surprise. "It's kind of sudden."
"Of course it's sudden. But it needn't take you aback like that. Well, what about it? What's it to be?"
Ben looked at Dare uncertainly, while Dare stared at him. They were both puzzled as to what were Pierre's intentions. Those intentions should have been fairly obvious. Pierre wanted to keep them under his personal supervision until he had finished running the big cargoes which were to herald a temporary cessation in the trade. The easiest way of doing that was to keep them on board voluntarily. But he was quite capable of keeping them on board against their will if they did not consent to accept the offer he made them.
So confused were Ben and Dare at the sudden proposition that they did not think of this obvious reason for it. They were hopelessly puzzled as to Pierre's designs, and could only consider if it would be to their advantage to pledge themselves to stay on board. If they did they stood a chance of finding out where the cave and the cache it led to were situated. But they might not get an opportunity to utilize their knowledge until the cargoes were run, and thus the opportunity of taking Pierre and his crew red-handed would be lost, at least for some time.
On the other hand, if they refused the offer and went back to Saltern with such knowledge as they had, they might, by a close inspection of the coast from Saltern to Point Day, make the discovery of the cave's whereabouts in a few days and then be free to plan the coup that would end in the smugglers' capture.
It was true the coast had been searched many times already without result, but with their special knowledge the task would be much more likely to yield success.